Puzzle masters have challenged people to prove their mental mettle by completing a tricky puzzle in just a few seconds. Creators with Indian educational centre Jagran Josh created a word search with just one goal: find a single word. And, in the ultimate attentiveness test, they have given people just nine seconds to complete the puzzle.
Jagran Josh has asked people to find the word “pathologist” in their 14×16 letter grid.
People who take on the challenge will need to comb through hundreds of letters in fewer than 10 seconds to succeed.
The grid provides several false starts, with other words thrown into the mix as distractions.
Those attempting the puzzle may end up drawn away by other words like “sought”, “spar”, “drollness” and “intercede” placed in easy-to-find sections of the grid.
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Ultimately, the only people who can find the answer will be those who can think (nearly) outside the box.
The answer to the puzzle isn’t obvious, with the 11-letter word tucked away in a corner, and backwards.
Pathologist is on the left-hand side of the image, in the second row from the left.
In the post on its website, Jagran Josh said the additional challenge of the time limit lets people test their “intelligence and observation skills”.
The site adds: “This is a moderate-level challenge, and individuals with good observation skills will be able to spot the word within the time limit.”
Anyone struggling to find the answer need not feel defeated, as completing the puzzle even outside of the time limit could prove beneficial.
Brain experts with the Cleveland Clinic, a US-based academic medical research centre, have said that puzzles can help fortify brain health.
Dr Jessica Caldwell, a neuropsychologist for the institution, said in a blog post last year that as long as they are challenging, they can keep people at the top of their mental game.
Provided people “can’t do it on auto-pilot” and they “really need to think about it” word puzzles are “serving you a good purpose in terms of supporting your brain health for life”.
The learning experience and trying something new that opens up new brain development is key to good brain health, Dr Caldwell added.
She said: “In order to keep your memory and your thinking sharp, the key is really challenge and learning.
“Those are the only ways that you’re really actually exercising your brain, you’re growing new neural pathways, you’re supporting the old neural pathways, so the key is you can’t just be busy.”
